Description:
After the tragic death of Liur's mother, her father, a thwarted artist working as a doctor in the family hospital, is overcome with grief. He goes to study in America, leaving six-year-old Liur in the care of her grandparents, promising to return with a special doll for her.
But instead of studying, her father travels to the Andes, where he meets a mysterious ventriloquist who takes him as a pupil.
Five years later, he returns home, bringing with him one of the ventriloquist's dolls. But it is not a present for Liur; instead, it becomes a menacing presence in the house, causing strife within the family. After observing her father performing strange rituals with the doll, Liur must find a way to defeat her demons - real or imagined.
Brief description: Helen Wang is Curator of East Asian Money at the British Museum, and a literary translator working from Chinese to English. Her translations for children include Bronze and Sun flower by Cao Wenxuan, Jackal and Wolf by Shen Shixi, Pai Hua Zi and the Clever Girl by Zhang Xinxin, and Tan Hou and the Double Sixth Festival by Cai Gao. She has also translated short stories by a wide range of Chinese authors. She is the Winner of the 2017 Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation. Helen Wang received the Special Contribution Award at the 2017 Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Awards for her contribution to children's literature translation worldwide.